City to spend $23M for anti-bias training for public school educators

Chancellor Richard Carranza lauded the cultural sensitivity training for city educators, which Mayor de Blasio unveiled in the 2019 budget. (Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News)

The city will spend $23 million for anti-bias training of city educators after the Daily News exposed shocking instances of racism in public schools.

In February, The News uncovered allegations of a white Bronx teacher who stepped on a black student during a lesson on slavery, a Bronx principal who barred black history lessons and a Park Slope PTA group that used blackface imagery in gala invites.

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The stories fueled demonstrations across the city from activists who had pushed for anti-bias training for months without response from the city.

Now the 2019 city budget unveiled by Mayor de Blasio includes millions in funding for the training and a plan to offer anti-bias training to all city educators by 2021.

"This is a real step forward for serving New York City's kids and families," Carranza said. "Culturally responsive teaching meets our kids and families where they are, and tailors the way we teach and serve our kids to their unique backgrounds and the experiences they bring into the classroom."

The city will spend $4.8 million on implicit bias- and culturally responsive practice training in fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1. That's up from just $660,000 on the programs in fiscal year 2018.

The budget for the programs also includes $6.9 million for the programs in 2020, $6.2 million for 2021 and $5.5 million for 2022.

NYC Coalition for Educational Justice Coordinator Natasha Capers, who organized many of the rallies calling for anti-bias training, said thousands of parents have worked hard to bring racial justice to city classrooms.

"We look forward to working with Chancellor Carranza and NYC educators to fulfill the promise of this initiative and begin the important work of diversifying curriculum and course offerings as well," Capers said.